Improvement in machines for pouncing and napping hat-bodies



Ntra STATES PATENT Frio,

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR POIUNC-ING AND NAPPING HAT-BODIES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,55?, dated February28, 1865.

.T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH EIOKEMEYER, of Yonkers, in the county ofWestchester and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machinery for Pouncing and Raising the Nap on Hat-Bodies;and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aplan of a machine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section. of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionof a pouncing-pad, which may be substituted for the roller representedin Figs. l and 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

The object of this invention is to enable the process of pouncing andrubbing to which felt and other hats are subjected to be performed in abetter and more expeditious manner than by the machines heretofore used,which, as far 'as known to me, consist simply of a block over which thehat-body is stretched, and which receives a rotary motion while thepouncing or rubbing material is held in the hand.

To this end it consists principally in attaching the pouncing orrubbing` surface to a roller or its equivalent which has an'automaticmovement back and forth over the block from the edge to the crown of thehat, and vice versa, and in .giving the hat-block a traverse motionacross the pouncing or rubbing surface, or the latter a traversemovement across the face of the block.

It also consists in a novel device for stretching the hat-body upon therotating block.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the main frame of the machine, furnished at one end with stationaryhorizontal guides a, a for the reception of a horizontal slidingcarriage, B, which contains the bearings for the upright shaft G, whichcarries the cone or hat-block 4D, upon which the hatbody is stretched tobe pounced. This shaft C is furnished with a pulley, C', which receivesa belt, C, from a pulley, E', on'the horizontal main shaft E, which isarranged in bearings at the other end of the frame. Rotary motion givento the shaft E produces, through the belt and pulleys above mentioned, arotary motion of the block D. 'Below the block D there is out upon theshaft G a screwthread, b, to which is fitted a circular disk, F, of adiameter about equal to that of the base of the block; and to the hub cof this disk there is loosely `fitted a loose disk, G, which is securedby a collar, d, which is secured tightly on the portion of the hub cabove in such manner as to cause the disk Gto move up and down with F,but to permit the latter to turn independently of G.

rFhe disk G, which is situated between the disk F and the block D, hashinged to its periphery, atequal distances apart, anumber of invertedhooks, d d, the .points of which are turned outward, and the backs ofthese hooks are iitted into notches d d in the lower part of the blockD, which compels them and the disk F to rotate or remain stationary withthe block, which is firmly secured on the shaft (l. The several hooks dd are connected by links or wires e e with a spring, f, consisting ofarin g of india-rubber, whichv is arranged between the block D and diskG, and which draws all of the said hooks toward the center of the block.The said hooks are intended to secure and stretch` the hat-body (whichis shown in section in-Fig. 2 in red color) upon the block.

To put on the hat-body, the disk E is screwed up on the screw b, and thehooks are thereby raised to a suitable height to enable the edges ofthebody to be drawn over and hooked onto them, and when this has been donethe disk F is screwed down again, drawing with it the disk G and hooksand stretching the hat-body as tightly as may be desired over the block.

The sliding carriage B, which carries the upright shaft G of thehat-block, has firmly secured to it a nut, gf, which fits a screwthread,g, on a shaft, H, which extends all across the main frame A of themachine, and which is made with journals to fit to bearings in or on thesaid frame in such manner that though it may turn freely it cannot movelongitudinally. This shaft is fitted with two loose pulleys, H and Hf',each of which has attached to it one portion of a clutch, and betweenthe said pulleys there is fitted to the shaft a double-clutch piece, h,which is free to slide lengthwise upon, but compelled to turn :mentacross the main frame.

Y with 'the axis of the said roller.

with the shaft, and this clutch-piece is groovedy to receive the forkedarm i of a sliding rod, i, which extends across and passes through themain frame A. The pulley H receivesa crossed belt, j, which runs on apulley, I,on` a shaft, I, which is arranged in suitable bearingsparallel with the screw-shaft H and the main shaft E, and the pulleyr Hreceives an open belt, j', running on the same pulley'f.

The shaft I is furnished with a large pulley, I, and receives a slowrotary motion through a belt, J, running from a small pulley on the mainshaft to the said pulley l, and is thus made to transmit rotary motionto the screwshaft by means of one of the belts j' j in one direction orthe other, according to which of the pulleys H H is in gear with thedouble clutchpieee 71., and by this means the sliding carriage with thehat-block shaft C and block are caused to have a slow traversing move-This traversing movement is reversed and made reciprocating by means oftwo tappets, 7o k', on the sliding rod z', one of which is acted upon bythe nut g', as the sliding carriage completes the necessary traversemotion in either direction, and the said rod i is thereby movedlongitudinally far enough for its forked arm i to move the clutch-pieceh out of gear with one and into gear with the other of the two pulleys HH, thus reversing the rotary motion of the screw-shaft H. The shaft H isfurnished with a crank-handle, P, by which to turn it by hand whennecessary.

J is a cylindrical roller, to which the sandpaper or. other pouncingmaterial lis attached, the surface ofthe said materialbein g concentricThis material has applied underneath it acushion, Z', of indiarubber orother elastic material, to enable it to yield to any inequalities in thehat-body and prevent it from cutting holes therein. The said roller hastwo concentric heads, J J which are arranged to run upon tracks orpatterns on m, provided on two parallel bars, K K, which are so securedto the sides of the main frame A by adjustable clamping-screws n n as toenable them to be adjusted to bring the tracks m m parallel with thelongitudinal profile of the hat-block D. The upper parts of the saidtracks are made to conform to the top or crown of the hat-block, so thatthe roller in running up and down the tracks will cause thepouncingsurface to press and act uniformly on all parts of the hat-bodyfrom the lower ed ges to the crown-and subject all parts alike to itsoperation. The heads of the roller are confined to the tracks m m bystraps p 19'., which pass around the said heads in opposite directions,one end of each strap being attached to the head of the pulley and theother to one of the bars K K. One of the hea-ds J" J of the roller isfitted easily between guides c c, provided Von the edges of one of thebars KK, as shown at the top of Fig. l, and the roller is thus preventedfromlongL tudinal displacement.

The movement of the roller up and down the tracks or patterns m m andover the surface of the hat-body is effected by means of a cam, L, ofheart-shaped or other suitable form,

turning on a stud, L', secured in one side of the framing. This cam hassecured to it a spur-gear, L, which gears with a pinion, 1', on'theshaft I, and the said cam, by the rotary motion received through thesaid gear and pinion :is caused to act upon a lever, M, the lower end ofwhich is attached by a fulcrumpin, q, to the frame A, and the upper endof which is connected by a rod, N, with a pin or axle, 1", secured inthe center of one end of the pouncingroller. This rod N is made with ahin gejoint, s, at about the middle of its length, to enable it to bendsufciently to permit the heads of the pouncinglroller to come down uponrests t, secured to each side of the machine, the pouneingsurface l ofthe said roller being then below the hat-block. The hingejoint s is madewith a stop, s', which keeps it straightwhile the roller is required tobe in operation. On each side of the pouneing-surface l on thepouncingroller there is secured to the periphery of the roller a pieceof felt, fu, or other soft material for smoothing the nap of thehat-body after the pouncing. The

cushion L extends also under this soft material u.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The hat-body having beenstretched upon the block D, the carriage B is adjusted by turning thehandle P to bring the hat-block to the proper position opposite thepouncing-roller, and the rod N is straightened to bring thepouneing-roller J' to an operative position. The machine is then set inaction by giving rotary motion to the shaft E, from which all partsderive their respective movements. The hat-block revolves rapidly, whilethe roller J rolls up and down over the surface of the hat and effectsthe pouneing equally from top to bottom. The movement of the carriage Bproduced by the screw g on the shaft H carries the hat-block and hatacross thepouncingsurface l, and afterward brings them opposite to oneof the soft surfaces u u, by which the nap is laid and the surface ofthe hat-body smoothed.

The velocity of the traverse movement of the carriage B is intended tobe such that a hat will be finished by each traverse movement, theoperation being commenced while the body is opposite to one. end. of thepouncing-surface l, and the block carrying it once across the saidsurface in one direction and once back and forth across one of thefinishin g-surfaces u.

There may be substituted for the pouncing roller a pad, Q, shown in Fig.3 hung on a shaft, w, which is furnished at each end with a cylindricalroller-like head, Q', the said roller-like heads being applied in amanner similar to thatof the heads J J of the pouneing-roller to run upand down the bars K K and track m or the pouncing material may beattached to a carrier which slides upon the track or pattern m or itsequivalent Without any rolling action. These devices may be consideredas the equivalents of the roller J but 1 prefer the roller, as by itsrolling action it produces a greater change of the relative positions ofthe pouncing-surface and the hatbody, so that any inequality or sharpprojecting grain does not act so much upon one portion of the surfaceofthe body.

Racks might be applied to the bars K K and teeth be provided upon theheads of the pouncing-roller or pad-shaft, the better to insure therolling of the said roller or shaft up and down the said bars.

What I claim as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters'Patent,is-

1. Attaching the pouncing and rubbing sur facesto a roller or itsequivalent which has a movement upon a track or tracks or patternparallel with the longitudinal proiile of the rotating block upon Whichthe hat is stretched, substantially as herein described.

2. S0 applying and operating the shaft of the rotating hat-block and theroller or its equivalent to which the pouncing or rubbing surface isattached that the one has a traverse movement relatively to the other,substanalent, having a movement up and down or lengthwise upon the shaftof the block, substantially as herein specied.

R. EICKEMEYER.

Witnesses:

J. W. CooMns, HENRY T. BROWN.

